I was a little apprehensive when I opened the package (got this as a blind date book) and saw that it was “an Amelia Peabody Mystery” because that means it was part of a series. I was worried there would be references to past books and adventures that would mean nothing to me and make the story confusing. Happily, this was not the case. There are some references to previous adventures but they do not detract from the story.

Amelia Peabody and her husband Emerson are renowned archeologists. After taking a sabbatical, they are enticed back to Egypt for a dig when the benefactor dies and the lead archeologist becomes gravely ill under mysterious circumstances. The locals have attributed these unfortunate events to a curse from disturbing the dead. The husband and wife team are not deterred in the least and dive head first into the tomb. Since she fancies herself a detective as well as an archeologist, Amelia is determined to solve the mystery.

This definitely feels like a classic mystery novel. Nancy Drew but older vibes. And being that the majority of the characters are upper class Victorian English, I got one heck of a vocabulary lesson